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Applefest 2007 provides healthy crop of
medals for Lady Wolves
A wonderful early season measuring stick for a number of the
Sudbury Lady Wolves rep hockey teams as all nine of the 2007-08
competitive squads travelled south on the weekend of October 12th-14th
to take part in the Clarington Applefest 2007.
And while there may not have been a
"bushel full" of gold medals that were returning to Sudbury, there
were certainly a number of outstanding performances turned in by the
local teams, led by a second straight tournament championship for the
Midget AA Lady Wolves. Following is a quick rundown of the results for
each of the Sudbury teams (along with goal scoring information and
coaches' comments, if available):
Novice Lady Wolves
With the bulk of the Novice roster
participating in the first competitive hockey tournament of their
young careers, the staff of the team was surely looking to the
Clarington Applefest as an ice-breaker for the young squad. With no
real prior indication as to their relative competitiveness against
teams from elsewhere in the Province, the Novices wandered into
uncharted waters in their season-opening tournament.
The Novices returned home with a 1-2
record, dropping a 5-0 decision to the Gloucester-Cumberland Stars
before bouncing back with a 2-0 win over the Belleville Bearcats
in their second game. Carley Bosse-Olivier and France
Belanger handle the scoring duties in the win while Terri-Anne
Dempsey gets credit for the shutout.
The final encounter of the preliminary
round would see the Lady Wolves suffer a 5-2 loss at the hands of the
host Clarington Flames. Carley Bosse-Olivier nets both Sudbury
goals as the Novice girls prepare to head to Waterloo on the first
weekend of November, battling Whitby, Clarington and London in their
pool play.
Atom BB Lady Wolves
While the Atom BB Lady Wolves were one of
five SDGHA teams to advance to the finals, none likely survived more
heart-stopping games in working their way through to the championship
encounter. Sudbury looked impressive in posting back to back 3-0 wins
over London and Mississauga to open their round robin as goaltender
Zoe Piquette racked up a pair of shutouts.
Offensively, the tandem of Kyla Boyd
and Taylor McGaughey were leading the way, scoring three goals
each in the first two games. Facing an Oakville team roster that
included all but one Major Atom (the Lady Wolves' roster includes only
one second year Atom), Sudbury were edged 3-2 as Darcy Whalen
scored both goals for the local ladies.
With a 2-1 record that was enough to
advance to the elimination semi-final game, the Lady Wolves spotted
the Mississauga Chiefs an early 2-0 lead before storming back.
Myla McCormick pulled the Wolves to within one in the second
period and Meagan McGaughey netted the equalizer with 1:27
remaining, forcing the game to overtime and eventually a shootout.
After Melissa Kingsley scored on
the opening Sudbury attempt and the Chiefs countered with their second
shooter, it was Kyla Boyd that would net the game-winner on the fourth
Lady Wolves shot, advancing the team to the final. A second straight
one-goal game against the Oakville Hornets would see the girls
fall 4-3 in a shootout as Darcy Whalen scored a pair in regulation
time, with Taylor McGaughey adding the remaining Sudbury marker.
Lady Wolves' defenseman Haley Moskal
was named as MVP of the championship game, although head coach Mike
McGaughey notes that there were plenty of accolades available to
his entire roster. "I thought our defense played really well
throughout the tournament, Zoe (Piquette) made the big save when she
needed to - our team really had an awesome tournament", noted
McGaughey.
The Atom BB Lady Wolves next tournament
action comes on the weekend of November 2nd - 4th as they, along with
five or six of the remaining Wolves rep teams, head to Kitchener-Waterloo
for the 6th annual Waterloo Ravens Fall Challenge Cup.
Atom A Lady Wolves
A familiar nemesis was all that stood
between the Sudbury Atom A Lady Wolves and a season-opening tournament
win. The Lady Wolves posted a 2-0-1 record in preliminary round play,
advancing directly to the finals before falling 2-1 to the
Gloucester-Cumberland Stars. Ironically for Sudbury head coach
Steve Blinn, it was the Stars who would defeat the locals in two
separate championship encounters one year ago as teams have developed
a healthy rivalry and respect for one another.
Sudbury was hopeful of holding the upper
hand this year after opening the Clarington event with a 1-0 win over
Gloucester. Co-captain Karli Shell scored the game's only goal
with 1:06 remaining and netminder Danika Lafrancois made it
stand, registering the shutout.
The Lady Wolves remained unbeaten in game
two, playing to a 2-2 tie with the Durham-West Lightning as
Karli Shell and Sydney Walker scored goals just 12 seconds
apart with just over a minute remaining in the game to give the Lady
Wolves the come from behind draw.
A much more solid effort ensued as
Sudbury blanked the Clarington Flames 4-0 with Danika
Lafrancois posting her second shutout of the tournament. A balanced
Lady Wolves' attack received goals from Emilia Mardero. Caitlyn
Olive-Ferguson, Brittany Reinhardt and Karli Shell as the locals
secured their berth in the championship game.
Facing the Stars for a second time,
Sudbury outplayed and outshot their opponents but could not prevail
where it mattered most - on the scoreboard - as Gloucester trimmed the
Lady Wolves 2-1. Karli Shell closed out the tournament, netting her
fourth goal in as many games as the team returned to Sudbury with
Silver medals in hand.
"It was a good weekend together, allowing
for plenty of team building", noted coach Blinn. "A great start to the
year with a very positive outlook towards the future, especially the
provincials in April." The second place performance came despite the
absence of goaltender Alexi Kennedy who has been sidelined the
past few weeks with a broken thumb. Her return, according to Blinn,
will only help to strengthen an already solid lineup.
"I am very pleased with the girls'
efforts this past weekend. They showed a lot of heart and I'm looking
forward to working with this team for the rest of the season", said
Blinn. The second year coach was especially pleased with the
performance of three newcomers to girls hockey (Deidre Debassige,
Kennedy Lanktree and Danika Lafrancois) and also with the
leadership provided by his returning contingent of players from one
year ago (co-captains Karli Shell and Sydney Walker, assistant
captains Kathleen Bertuzzi and Sierra Scobie as well as
Haley Blinn and Kassandra Lauzon.)
Forwards Madyson Tellier and
Josee Emond round out the Atom A Lady Wolves roster while Blinn is
supported by the likes of assistant coaches Ian Reinhardt, Craig
Ferguson, Richard Walker and Chantal Bazinet, manager
Stacie Reinhardt and trainer Tina Galipeau. The Atom A
squad will also participate in the Waterloo Tournament, matched in a
Pool that includes Sarnia, Burlington and Clarington.
Peewee B Lady Wolves
For a team that was touch and go in
trying to field a second rep Peewee team for Sudbury given a definate
lack of female netminders in the 1995 and 1996 age groupings, the
Peewee B Lady Wolves fared quite well in picking up a win and two
losses in their first tournament action of the year.The Sudbury
Peewees kicked off the Applefest Challenge on a winning note, doubling
the Barrie Sharks 4-2 as Manon Emond paced the Wolves
attack with a two-goal effort. Emilie Martin and Samantha
Fabiilli added the remaining markers while goaltender Emily
Toffoli enjoyed a strong start to her girls rep hockey career.
The Windsor Wildcats downed the
locals 3-0 in game two while the Oshawa Lady Generals squeezed
past Sudbury 3-2 as the team narrowly missed advancing to the
semi-finals against Sault Ste Marie. Emilie Martin and Everett
Abresch scored for the Lady Wolves against Oshawa.
Peewee A Lady Wolves
Head coach Steve Boyd has made no
secret of his plans to emphasize an overall team defense approach as a
key for his Peewee A Lady Wolves team this year. His young ladies
executed the approach to perfection through the first four games in
Clarington before coming out flat in the championship final and
returning to Sudbury as tournament runners-up.
The Peewee A squad posted a 2-0-1 record
in the round robin games, allowing just a single goal against. The
Wolves opened with a 0-0 tie with the Clarington Flames as
Stephanie Pascal recorded the first of her three shutouts at the
Clarington tournament.
Goals by Celina Robicheau and
Hanna McLeod provided the offensive support as Sudbury edged St
Clair Shores 2-1 before the team closed out preliminary round action
with a 2-0 win over the Etobicoke Dolphins. Hanna McLeod and
Jenna Gough scored for the locals, lifting the Lady Wolves to a
semi-final match-up with the Belleville Bearcats.
Captain Renee Leclair would score
the game's only goal and goaltender Pascal stood tall, especially in
the dying minutes a Sudbury survived a Bearcats power-play with the
Belleville goalie pulled as well as the team pulled out all stops
trying to net the game-tying goal.
Unfortunately, the solid play of the
Peewee A Lady Wolves ended after game four as the Clarington Flames
trounced the Lady Wolves 6-1 in the final. Still, with four solid
efforts in five games, coach Boyd remained pleased in looking at the
big picture.
"The girls had an extremely productive
weekend", said Boyd. "As you can see from our first four games, our
goaltending and team defensive concept stood out. Everyone contributed
at one point in time throughout the weekend, as a team, which was very
nice to see. Despite coming out flat in the finals, I am very pleased
with the overall results from this weekend - it's a great weekend to
build off of going to our next tournament at Waterloo," added the
former Sudbury Nickel Capital head coach.
Bantam B Lady Wolves
Goal scoring was at a premium for the
Bantam Lady Wolves teams as both squads struggled in finding the back
of the net. The Bantam B Lady Wolves still managed to pick up a
victory against two losses, blanking the host Clarington Flames
1-0 after dropping a 2-0 decision to the Peterborough Ice Kats
in their tournament opening game.
Maddy Pos
scored the only Sudbury goal while Taylor Harrigan picked up
the shutout against the Flames. The locals closed out tournament play
with a 1-0 loss to the North Durham Blades. The Bantam B Lady
Wolves will be among the Sudbury contingent heading to Waterloo in
early November.
Bantam A Lady Wolves
Playing in a Bantam "AA" grouping at the
Clarington Tournament, the Sudbury Bantam "A" Lady Wolves were clearly
challenged, suffering three consecutive losses and not registering a
goal. The locals were shutout by Quebec Lac St Louis (2-0), the
Hamilton Hawks (5-0) and finally the Willowdale Red Wings
(3-0). Hopefully, the additional experience of playing up one
classification will prove helpful when the team resumes tournament
play in Waterloo.
Midget AA Lady Wolves
Make it two for two for the Midget "AA" Lady Wolves who once again
survived some tense moments before walking away with Gold. Sudbury
opened tournament play with a 3-2 win over the
Gloucester-Cumberland Stars as Morgan McCrory, Kelsey Smith
and Leslie Taylor all found the back of the net for the Lady
Wolves.
The locals made it back to back wins,
stopping the Cambridge Roadrunners 4-1 as defenseman Josee
Belanger rifled home a pair of goals in the win. Micheline
Frappier and Maxine Baronette scored the remaining Sudbury
goals as the team continues to get scoring from all three forward
lines.
The team's toughest round robin matchup
in game three as the Lady Wolves play the Whitby Wolves to a
one all draw as Valerie Valiquette finds the mark for Sudbury
and goaltender Sheema Taylor of Parry Sound turns aside 19 of
the 20 shots directed her way.
Playing the Gilmour Academy in the
tournament semi-final, Sudbury once again display their impressive
firepower, doubling the Gilmour Girls 4-2 as Micheline Frappier,
Morgan McCrory, Kelsey Smith and Danielle Rancourt score one
goal apiece in the win.
Off to the finals and an "all-Wolves"
matchup as Sudbury and Whitby prepare for a highly anticipated
rematch. A goal-scoring hero in the tournament victory in Stoney
Creek, veteran Micheline Frappier is at it again, netting the
game-winner with just 56 seconds remaining in overtime as Sudbury
pulls out a 1-0 win. Rotating with returning netminder Vanessa
Jacques, Sheema Taylor is back in for the final, registering her
first shutout of tournament.
The Sudbury Midget AA Lady Wolves are
back in tournament action in early November, although their schedule
takes them to the nation's capital for the 11th Annual NCCP Women's
Hockey Tournament from November 9th to 11th.
Intermediate A Lady Wolves
The Intermediate "A" Lady Wolves closed
out a very successful weekend of tournament play for the Sudbury
contingent, becoming the fifth of nine local entries to advance to a
championship game. The Wolves got things started on the right foot,
blanking the Markham-Stouffville Stars 4-0 as Lindsey Smith
notched the whitewash between the pipes for the locals.
Kathryn Corbiere
scored a pair of goals to lead the Sudbury attack with Andrea Hyde
and Mackenzie Foley netting singles. The team appeared to be in
solid control in game two, taking a 2-0 lead into the final three
minutes on goals from Mackenzie Foley and Kayla Brunet. But the
Oshawa Lady Generals scored twice on deflections late in the
game to escape with a 2-2 tie.
Undaunted, the Lady Wolves improved to
2-0-1 with a 3-1 win over the Brampton Canadettes as Melissa
Camirand, Kathryn Corbiere and Kayla Brunet scored to secure a
semi-final berth for head coach Fred Taylor and company. With
goaltender Rebecca Fabiilli backstopping the locals with four
key breakaway saves, the Lady Wolves downed the Mississauga Chiefs
3-1 on goals from Kathryn Corbiere, Jessica McWatch and Melissa
Camirand.
The Scarborough Sharks provide the
opposition in the championship encounter and a very tightly contested
game remains scoreless until late in the second period when the Sharks
opened the scoring on the power-play. Scarborough would add two more
goals as Sudbury goes 0-6 with the man advantage, falling 3-0 to the
Sharks.
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